Thai Cabinet gives final approval to reopen Don Muang

The Straits Times, February 20, 2007


BANGKOK - Thailand's Cabinet cleared a final hurdle towards re-opening Bangkok's old international airport when it approved the Transport Ministry's plan to allow charter and some domestic flights to operate from there.

The Cabinet had already given approval in principle to reopening Don Muang to ease a flight crunch at the four-month-old Suvarnabhumi airport which will see some taxiways and runways closed for repairs.

Don Muang is expected to be ready to operate by March 25, Transport Minister Thira Hao-Charoen said after the weekly Cabinet meeting on Saturday.

Initially only charter flights and domestic flights without connections to international flights will operate from the old airport, but six months later, an airport policy committee would evaluate the situation and consider moving some regional flights there, Mr Thira said.

Four local airlines - Thai Airways International, Nok Air, One-Two-Go, and PB Air - will fly from the old airport with a total of 77 flights a day, he said.

Foreign airlines have shown little enthusiasm for moving their international flights back to the old airport, citing potential confusion for passengers and the investment they made in relocating to Suvarnabhumi, which opened in September.

The sleek and modern Suvarnabhumi airport was intended to be South-east Asia's leading air hub.

Instead, the facility has become a national embarrassment with widely publicised problems that include the taxiway cracks, a shortage of toilets, dozens of design flaws and a long